Tesla Model Y Compact Crossover EV Unveil Set For March 14th

Perhaps an even bigger hit than the Model 3 given the boner that Americans have for crossovers?

Tesla will unveil its Model Y crossover SUV on March 14th during an event at the company’s design studio in Los Angeles, CEO Elon Musk announced Sunday. The new electric car will be Tesla’s fifth since the company was founded in 2003.

The Model Y will share about 75 percent of its parts with the Model 3, which is currently Tesla’s most affordable car. It will be built at the company’s Gigafactory outside Reno, Nevada, and is supposed to enter volume production in 2020. Tesla also eventually plans to make Model Ys at the Gigafactory it’s building in Shanghai, China.

Musk’s announcement comes just three days after Tesla finally made the long-promised $35,000 Model 3 available to order.

Tesla has only shown one teaser image of the Model Y to this point: a simple black-and-white silhouette. But the company’s been talking about the car for years. In 2015, Musk tweeted the name of the Model Y before quickly deleting the tweet. He also went back and forth on whether the compact SUV would be built on the same technological platform as the Model 3, before ultimately deciding to share technology between the cars in order to be able to bring the Model Y to market on time. Musk said Tesla signed off on the final design late last year.

Musk had previously joked that the Model Y would be unveiled on March 15th “because the Ides of March sounded good.” A few Chinese media outlets had speculated earlier this month that Tesla might wait to reveal the car at April’s Shanghai Auto Show.

Musk also tweeted Sunday that the third version of its “Supercharger” electric car charging stations will be revealed this coming week. The first public station will go live at 8PM PT on Wednesday, March 6th, though he didn’t reveal the location.

Version 3 of Tesla’s Supercharger is supposed to be able to charge cars at a rate of 350kW or more, according to previous tweets from Musk. That would help the company keep pace with some budding competition in the space. Porsche has said it will build 350kW chargers for its much-anticipated lineup of electric sports cars, and Volkswagen has already begun building a network of charging stations under the Electrify America brand that can charge between 150kW and 350kW. Tesla’s current Superchargers have a max rate of 145kW, and its cars can only accept up to 120kW.

I would be excited for this, except I almost know it's going to have a boring all-straight-lines crap interior and a big huge screen just floating in the middle, and I cannot contemplate sitting in that environment for my daily commute for even a week, let alone the life of the car in my possession.

Originally Posted by zukiphile

There is an area of a normal brain that lets the owner know the object works and needs to be left alone. Not all of us have it. It is like being colorblind.

How is there not a deposit/waiting list for this at least like 4 times as long as the Model 3's ?

... only because, at the moment, it is not possible to place an order for one.

It will be interesting to see how this goes. I can see it cannibalizing Model 3 orders.

Prediction: it will look like a taller Model 3 just like the Model X looks like a taller Model S, with the liftgate/hatchback that lots of people had wished the Model 3 had. And no falcon-wing doors, and the roof won't be one big piece of glass like the Model 3 because of the liftgate. I'm sure Musk will have insisted on some silly unique feature for it; that seems to be how he operates.

I would be excited for this, except I almost know it's going to have a boring all-straight-lines crap interior and a big huge screen just floating in the middle, and I cannot contemplate sitting in that environment for my daily commute for even a week, let alone the life of the car in my possession.

It's seriously miserable. Every day I want to off myself because, holy crap, the lines are straight. The screen. OH MY GOD, THE SCREEN! Just FLOATING. In the MIDDLE. Like a MIDDLE FLOATY THING. And the panel gaps! How am I supposed to play Marble Madness on this??

The world has never known worse suffering than my daily commute.

Dash cam people suck. Don't be a dash cam person.

Originally Posted by Dravenport

this thread is a mess, I can't tell if it's full of trolls or idiots and I'm not sure it matters

It's seriously miserable. Every day I want to off myself because, holy crap, the lines are straight. The screen. OH MY GOD, THE SCREEN! Just FLOATING. In the MIDDLE. Like a MIDDLE FLOATY THING. And the panel gaps! How am I supposed to play Marble Madness on this??

The world has never known worse suffering than my daily commute.

I have a long commute. Not entirely by choice, but not entirely by not-choice either.

I spend a great deal of time (not necessarily miles) in my car, so yes, I do want something that I can enjoy being in for that chunk of time.

The interior is the only part of the car which the owner spends a ton of time looking at, so yeah, it's subject to tastes and preferences.

A Model S or X interior? I like those.

A Model 3 interior? It was enough that I didn't put down the deposit I had set aside for one.

Originally Posted by zukiphile

There is an area of a normal brain that lets the owner know the object works and needs to be left alone. Not all of us have it. It is like being colorblind.

It's seriously miserable. Every day I want to off myself because, holy crap, the lines are straight. The screen. OH MY GOD, THE SCREEN! Just FLOATING. In the MIDDLE. Like a MIDDLE FLOATY THING. And the panel gaps! How am I supposed to play Marble Madness on this??

The world has never known worse suffering than my daily commute.

Not hard to understand really. Some people like a modern downtown, minimalist loft (I don't) but I respect those who do. Some like a bungalow or ranch style home in the suburbs, with trendy flooring, granite counters and a pool. Other like a cozy cabin in the woods, or a farm on acreage. To me Tesla's are a minimalist, modern loft in the trendy section of a downtown area. I'm sort of in-between the Suburbs and rural farmhouse, and most comfortable in my 2018 Tundra interior as an example.

I would be excited for this, except I almost know it's going to have a boring all-straight-lines crap interior and a big huge screen just floating in the middle, and I cannot contemplate sitting in that environment for my daily commute for even a week, let alone the life of the car in my possession.

"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit their views...which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
- Doctor Who (Fourth Doctor) "Face of Evil"

"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit their views...which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
- Doctor Who (Fourth Doctor) "Face of Evil"

I would be excited for this, except I almost know it's going to have a boring all-straight-lines crap interior and a big huge screen just floating in the middle, and I cannot contemplate sitting in that environment for my daily commute for even a week, let alone the life of the car in my possession.

Well isn't it super great that you have a crap ton of totally curvy squiggly lined multi buttoned Japanese models to choose from, that'll surly keep you busy and occupied in your commute. I personally can think of worst commuting environments i.e. standing with coughing commuters on a crowded subway train for one. I mean you may not like the interior but it can't be THAT bad.

Not hard to understand really. Some people like a modern downtown, minimalist loft (I don't) but I respect those who do. Some like a bungalow or ranch style home in the suburbs, with trendy flooring, granite counters and a pool. Other like a cozy cabin in the woods, or a farm on acreage. To me Tesla's are a minimalist, modern loft in the trendy section of a downtown area. I'm sort of in-between the Suburbs and rural farmhouse, and most comfortable in my 2018 Tundra interior as an example.

Yes sir. I know why I bought my model 3. I also recognize now why it's not for me, not as my only car. It's too reserved of personality. The minimalistic modern loft is something I hate. The minimalism of the model 3 is cool for some, or cool for those who want the best appliance. But I want more life to my car.

I just can't stand the center screen, the rest of the interior is fine on the Model 3. Why can't they put another damn $20 screen behind the steering wheel? I could even make do with just a HUD to display speed and range.